Friday, April 26, 2013

I'll Have a Bloody Mary, a Steak Pizza, and a Steak Pizza

Hethyr: If we could
eat pizza for dinner every night and not feel guilty about it, we probably
would. I know we've already done several
pizza posts, but we haven't yet done this
pizza post. Bear with me - it's
worth it.

While Jon was out of town recently,
I was craving pizza so badly that I went out and picked up the ingredients (including goat cheese, which I've been allowed to add back in!), got
home and realized I didn't have any crust, then debated whether to make my own
or drive back across town for some already prepared gluten-free, vegan crust
that is really, really good. Not just
acceptable, but actually good. The stuff that I make at home is really good,
too, but it takes a decent amount of effort.
I decided on convenience on the day in question. And while I was at the bakery, I picked up
two more packs of crusts (each pack contains two).

Pre-baking and cheese

So, we had this one crust
left in the refrigerator from the pack I opened while he was gone, and we had a
little bit of leftover steak with sauce.
With a few other items on hand, we had an incredible dinner... definitely one worth sharing! I love that some of my best recipes are
inspired by leftovers, and that nothing goes to waste in this house! You get a bonus from this post, too, because
you can have the flank steak for dinner on the first night and use the leftovers
for the pizza the second night. Enjoy!

1. Place pizza stone on center rack of oven and
preheat oven to 450°F for at least 30 minutes.

2. Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium
heat. Add shallots and chard and sauté
until just wilted, about 1-2 minutes.
Remove from heat and set aside.

3. In a small dish, combine cornstarch and cold
water and set aside.

4. Heat cooked, reserved marinade from flank
steak in a small saucepan over medium heat.
When simmering, whisk in cornstarch mixture and stir constantly until
thick (should be a paste-like consistency).
Remove from heat.

Jon: I noticed Hethyr
said that if we could eat pizza every night for dinner and not feel guilty
about it, then we would. Um, hello? I would feel no guilt. In fact, I would feel the opposite of guilt. What's the opposite of guilt? Joy.
Bliss. Enlightenment, perhaps. In fact, with pizza everyday I would probably
have a Buddha belly to accompany that enlightenment. Sweet.

What?! A Buddha wood fired brick oven!Pizza & Buddha were meant to be together.(Photo from backyardovensbook.com.au)

When Hethyr first told me
the flank steak marinade would be entering the blogosphere, I must admit that I
felt a little hesitant, like an over-protective father. A father to my flank steak... a flankster, if
you will. Anyway, for many years, the
flank steak recipe has been one of my only successful contributions to our
regular cooking routine. Could I really let
it go? After I - yes, I, not Hethyr - claimed ownership of this delicious, simple,
sweet, savory, understated, satisfying marinade? This marinade that pairs with flank steak
like peanut butter with jelly, like Mario with Luigi, like McDonalds with
salmonella?

Then it dawned on me. I had just stolen the recipe from some
website. Whoops. I guess that means it isn't mine. But I still feel proud that I found it myself, and even was capable of
making it myself after stealing it. Wow, even I think that's pathetic. I'm lucky that Hethyr can cook, because I'm
like Lennie from Of Mice and Men when
it comes to kitchen skills.

About Me

Hethyr is a personal chef in Colorado Springs and has owned and operated Everyday Gourmet Colorado Personal Chef Service for six years. She also teaches yoga at Pranava Yoga Center. Jon is a first grade teacher at Manitou Springs Elementary School.